Search

I had my doubts about these. Homemade magic shell layer? How well can that turn out…really? Turns out, pretty darn great! I opted to go for the no-dip version, because dipping them was a little tricky and a lota messy (I lack a certain coordination apparently – that and my chocolate must have been a little on the warm side because it was melting my ice cream right off the brownie). So, I drizzled instead. I poured a layer of caramel sauce (I used a jar of caramel ice cream topping) between the brownie and the ice cream layer instead of dipping it as well. This was both good and bad. I liked having everything together without having to worry about double dipping every time I wanted my caramel fix. However, it made the ice cream a little slippery and my layers didn’t want to stay stuck together. I plan on remedying this eventually (I’ll keep you posted if it works…or you try it and let me know ;)). I’m guessing that if I use my thicker homemade caramel instead of the store bought kind, then I think it will serve as a more effective glue between the ice cream and brownies. Darn. I hate having to remake recipes over and over again until I get them right. Especially when they involve brownies and ice cream and caramel. It’s just torture. But, someone has to do it…and eat it…every time. Darn. 🙂

For the brownies, position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides. Lightly grease with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for one minute intervals, stirring in between, until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Set the mixture aside until it cools slightly (is warm to the touch not hot). It will look gritty but it will become smooth once the other ingredients are added. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack and then chill in the refrigerator or freezer until thoroughly cold – this will help the brownies hold up well to the ice cream layer that’s coming.

For the ice cream layer, soften the ice cream to spreading consistency (leaving at room temperature for 15-20 minutes should do the trick), then spread an even layer across the chilled brownies. The ice cream layer should be about an inch thick. Put the pan in the freezer until very firm (1-2 hours).

For the magic shell, in a microwave-safe bowl, combine the coconut oil and chocolate chips. It helps if the bowl is more tall than wide so that when you dip the bars, the chocolate mixture is deep and not super shallow. Microwave for one minute intervals at 50% power until the chocolate is melted. Stir the mixture until it is smooth. It will be fairly runny.

Remove the pan of brownies from the freezer. Gently lift the foil handles and remove the ice cream layered brownies from the pan. Cut the browines in half. Then, working with one half at a time (you might want to return the other half to the freezer if your kitchen is overly warm), cut rectangle into long, thin bars, about 1-inch by 4-inches. You should end up with 8 or so bars per half. Repeat with the remaining half. It is best to put all the cut bars onto a tray or plate and keep them in the refrigerator while dipping so they stay as cold as possible.

Place a baking rack over a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper or even aluminum foil (to help with cleanup). Working one-by-one, gently hold the ice cream bar at the base of the brownie and dip it quickly into the chocolate shell mixture (tilt the bowl to help deepen the chocolate for easier dipping) until completely coated and place on the baking rack. Your hands will get messy but I promise it’s worth it! Repeat the dipping process with each bar. After I dipped about 5-7 bars and the chocolate shell had hardened (it sets up very quickly, especially if your ice cream and brownie is very cold), I gently removed them from the cooling rack and put them in the freezer so the ice cream didn’t melt and kept dipping the other bars that were waiting in the freezer.

Make note that the chocolate shell mixture will want to stick to the baking rack so pry the eskimo bars carefully off the baking rack so the chocolate shell doesn’t crack as you separate them from where the chocolate has hardened to the rack.

When ready to serve, remove the eskimo bars from the freezer and let them sit at room temperature for 5-7 minutes. Warm the caramel sauce until it is runny and slightly warm but not overly hot (you don’t want any burned fingers).

I should be posting about the fabulously Irish dinner we had tonight, but I don’t have the pictures uploaded yet, so instead you get the equally fabulous ice cream cake we made for my husband’s birthday. Holy crap this is a rich cake! Very, very tasty and it gets an A++ for presentation. In all honesty, I think next time I will substitute the peanut butter ice cream for plain vanilla. Not that I didn’t like it, it’s just that I couldn’t even finish an entire slice because of the richness. I was done about half way through. A little less sweet, and I could have eaten half the cake – so maybe it’s a good thing I was forced into moderation. 🙂 But, keep the vanilla ice cream option in mind if you like to tone things down a little.

Ingredients

1 box brownie mix, plus ingredients required on box

1/4 cup milk

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

8 oz Cool Whip, thawed

1 20 oz bottle chocolate sundae syrup

1 20 oz bottle caramel sundae syrup

1 11.5 oz bag mini snickers, chopped, divided into three groups

Instructions

NOTE: An 8-inch springform pan is best for this recipe so that you can easily remove the cake once it’s been assembled. If you do not have a springform pan, line your pan with clear wrap before adding your parchment paper and cake board. You can use the clear warp to lift your cake out of the pan once it’s assembled and frozen.

Brownies:

1. Make brownie dough according to instructions on back of box.

2. Grease two 8-inch pans (preferable springform pans, see above) and line the bottoms with parchment paper to allow for easy removal. Bake at temperature on box, reducing baking time to about 20 minutes (You can also bake 1 big brownie – which would cook for the normal time – and cut it in half, but cutting a brownie in half isn’t super easy).

3. When brownies are done baking, allow to completely cool.

Ice Cream:

1. Combine milk, cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer. Mix until completely combined.

2. Fold in the cool whip.

Assembling it all:

1. Line the sides of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper. The parchment paper should stick up above the top edge of the pan, since the cake will probably be a little taller than your pan. If you want, put a cardboard cake circle in the bottom of the pan.

NOTE: You should be using the same 8-inch pan you used for the brownies. Not all 8-inch pans are exactly the same size. Your brownie needs to fit in this pan.

2. Put the first brownie layer in the bottom of your pan.

3. Spread 1/2 cup caramel sauce and 1/2 cup chocolate sauce over the brownie. Top with first group of chopped snickers.

4. Top with half of the peanut butter ice cream.

5. Add second brownie to the pan, on top of the ice cream.

6. Again cover with 1/2 cup caramel sauce and 1/2 cup chocolate sauce. Top with second group of chopped snickers.

7. Top with remaining peanut butter ice cream.

8. Allow ice cream cake to freeze completely.

9. When frozen, remove from springform pan and remove parchment paper from sides.

10. Top with additional caramel sauce and chocolate sauce, allowing it to drizzle down the sides.

11. Cover with remaining chopped snickers and a little more caramel and chocolate sauce.